Detroit Pistons low on answers after Toronto debacle leaves them below playoff line

Detroit Pistons forward-center Greg Monroe, right, going up against the Toronto Raptors' Jonas Valanciunas, left, and Chuck Hayes, had only one field-goal attempt in the second half Wednesday.The Associated Press

TORONTO -- Greg Monroe watched the media hover around his locker as he dressed after another Detroit Pistons loss Wednesday.

"Not right now," Smith replied. "We've just got to be able to try to get ourselves out of this rut. Winning a game would definitely help."

After an NBA-high six consecutive losses, dating to their last win Dec. 23 at Cleveland -- which since then traded for Luol Deng and is one of several upticking Eastern Conference teams -- the Pistons (14-21) can't count any game as an automatic.

They have slipped into ninth place in the Eastern Conference, below the playoff cut line, and have no answers for their league-worst 3-point and free-throw shooting, or the floor-spacing issues exacerbated by the lack of shooting, or how to manage the big-three front line which caused the floor-spacing issues in the first place.

As to the latter, for example, Monroe had 11 points and 11 rebounds against the Raptors, but all his scoring came in the first half.

He had one field-goal attempt as the Pistons were outscored 62-37 in the second half.

"I don't think Toronto did anything that differently," Monroe said. "I think that (was) just the calls that were made."

Guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope also had all 13 points and four steals in the first half, with one field-goal attempt in the second half.

The Pistons knew in advance what their structural issues were.

They hoped interior physicality could mitigate them.

When they were 10-10, the early-December returns looked promising.

A month later, Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings said the team's likely grip on a playoff berth was "slipping away" earlier this week -- and the team has lost twice since then.

Monroe said he "definitely wasn't expecting us to play like this," but balked at that assessment.

"Slipping away? Nah. I mean, you could easily say that. But I don't feel that way," he said. "There's a lot of ups and downs in the season and right now we need to find a way to get back on the up."

The Pistons had six assists in the second half as another bugaboo, poor ball movement, persisted.

Much of that was because the Pistons held Toronto to 33.3-percent shooting in the first half, when they scored 18 of their 25 fast-break points. When Toronto shot 50 percent in the second half, the Pistons found themselves mired in their own halfcourt muck.

"It's proven, when we've won games, we've helped each other out a lot on the defensive end," Smith said. "We played unselfishly and that's what we've got to get back to."

Smith said selfless play also is a mandate on the offensive end.

"Play unselfishly and hit the open man when he's open, the rest will be history," he said. "If we just worry about playing together and not trying to figure out anything else, that's when our luck will start to change."

Smith said earlier in the season, the Pistons responded confidently when teams made runs.

"We have to just get back to playing with each other," he said. "We have to play with each other and we have to sacrifice for each other."

Monroe, a restricted free agent-to-be, potentially could end up somewhere else this summer -- or even by the Feb. 20 trade deadline. He has yet to participate in a postseason series.

As of Wednesday, the Pistons' playoff pursuit officially became an uphill climb, largely because five of the six losses in their losing streak came against Eastern Conference opponents.

"The confidence is still there," Monroe said. "Of course, guys are upset and they're mad because we know we should be winning more games. So I think we've got to continue to work together and find a way to win."